The Morning Gift — John Ward

She's young, but what harm can there be in agreeing the betrothal of Ourdilic to King Alfred's nephew? She is herself a king's daughter after all, even if her father is dead and was suspected of helping the Danish king, Guthrum. Winfrith, tiring of the thankless task of acting as the girl's ward, at first welcomes the idea though the girl's age and the desperate situation Alfred and his followers face mean there is unlikely to be a marriage any time soon. He plans to take refuge from the Danes in the Somerset levels but on the way Ourdilic disappears and her body is found at the foot of a cliff. She is hastily buried and it's generally assumed to be an unfortunate accident. Only Winfrith is unconvinced. The girl had made enemies and may have been carrying a child. Feeling guilty that she'd not done enough to protect the girl, Winfrith determines to get to the bottom of what happened to her. It soon becomes clear that Ourdilic is not the only female to whom accidents can happen…